Drum Terminology
Snare Drum A snare drum is one of the main parts of any drum kit. It produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Drum kit snares are usually about a third to half the depth of a marching snare. They are typically 36 cm in diameter and 13, 14, 15, 17 or 18 cm, with 20 cm depths also available. Toms(AKA rack toms, or tom toms) A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares. Most toms range in size between 6 and 20 inches 15 and 51 cm in diameter, though floor toms can go as large as 61 cm. The basic rock configuration consists of 12" and 13" hanging toms, and a 16" floor tom. Toms are most commonly used for fills, however they are extremely versatile in the hands of a skilled drummer. Bass Drum(AKA Kick Drum) A bass drum is used along with the snare, and forms the base of the beat. The are typically between 16-22 inches in diameter, however some drummers prefer to use larger bass drums than that, up to 26 or even 28 inches in diameter. It is almost always operated by the drummers foot, with the use of a pedal. Many drummers, particularly metal drummers, like to use a double bass drum pedal, to allow for extremely fast bass drum beats. Some drummers even use two whole bass drums for a very heavy sound, however most drummers stick to one, as if you are using two, they have to be tuned to the exact same tone, which can be quite difficult to achieve. However this was not very popular in mainstream music up until the mid-late 70's, despite it being around for decades before that. Cymbal A cymbal is an instrument typically made out of bronze or brass, and it is used on a drum kit to add different elements to the music, depending on the cymbal type as well as the genre of music being played. Hi-hats are used alongside the snare and bass drum, and they are basically used to fill in the empty spaces between beats, as well as to help keep time for both the drummer as well as any band they might be playing with. Cymbals are available in a variety of sizes, for examples many splash cymbals are only between 8 and 10 inches in diameter, hi-hats are usually between 10-15 inches, crash and china cymbals are usually between 14-20 inches, and ride cymbals are the largets, usually between 18-24 inches in diameter. Floor Tom Floor toms are very similar to rack toms, and are used esentially for the same things, except as the name implies, they are simply place on the floor using legs to hold them up, allowing the drummer to move them to their desired height. Floor toms are generally quite large, typically ranging from 14-18 inches in diameter, and they are often used in fills or occasionally to add extra low end to a song, alongside the bass drum.